Mars: the new Earth?

Mars is essentially humanities last hope. Although we don't particularly see it now, the planet we call home is slowly dying and disintegrating because of us. Instead of fixing our behavior before it really is too late, we're looking to the sky. 

A manned mission to Mars would take decades to plan. Not to mention the fact that it takes about a year to get to that red planet. Without any fuel stops. After reaching Mars, we have to fully know if our species can really live on it. Mars has similar size and density to Earth, but it has a drastically different air composition, it has extremely different weather patterns, and the last time life was on Mars was millions of years ago... and that was bacteria. The colonization of this red planet would be long and difficult and not everyone would be capable of going. For some odd reason, we believe this jump to a completely new planet is our answer. Instead of just taking care of the one we have now. 

Personally, I believe Mars should be visited and traveled to, but not colonized. Ever since we made this discovery that Mars could be the solution to our dying planet and looming timeline, fixing and taking care of Earth hasn't been a priority. 

  

    

                                       

The Gas Giants

Our solar system is comprised of eight planets (nine, for Pluto fans). The outer four are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. On this blog post, these four rather large outer planets are the subject. These planets reside past the asteroid belt. A gas giant is composed of gases (obviously) like those as helium and hydrogen. Jupiter and Saturn are larger than Uranus and Neptune. These bodies all have rather different chemical compositions.

Fun fact: Scientists have discovered hundreds and thousands of planets outside of our solar system. These planets are being studied to help us learn how our solar system is made. 

Breaking these planets down, first we have Jupiter:

As the largest planet in our solar system, it is about 11 times the size of Earth. It has about 50 known moons. The planets is made of helium and hydrogen and the core is made of ice and rock. That ice and rock is made up of metallic hydrogen. Which means it had a massive magnetic field. Fun fact: IT HAS RINGS!!! AND A COOL RED SPOT!

Saturn is up next, being about 9 times the size of Earth. The formation of these well-known rings of this planet is actually a mystery. Saturn and Jupiter's atmosphere are very similar. Saturn has 53 moons.

Uranus is one of the most unique in our solar system because it is the only planet that titled on its side. It is about 4 times the size of Earth. It rotates backwards, which probably means it was hit by another massive object a while ago and it disrupted the rotation.

Neptune!! This pretty blue planet is about 4 times the size of Earth as well! With 13 moons and 1 currently being decided on, its quite the site to see. Especially the planets storms!

The moon is actually an alien spaceship

While doing some research on this week’s space topic, I came across a website run by a group of people whole-heartedly believe that the moon is hollow. They have dedicated their lives to proving it, actually. As I read through the website, it only became more… insane. They believe the moon is hollow because of an alien civilization. Sometimes they even refer to their theory as the Spaceship Moon hypothesis. This theory began with the author H.G. Wells. He was the first to talk about it. He wrote about it in his book, “The First Men in the Moon”. The main evidence that these conspiracists have are the Apollo Missions. The moon landings have been the center of controversy and conspiracy since they happened. There has always been speculation at to whether or not we actually went to the moon, what we found there, and how much information NASA is actually hiding from us. At the end of the Apollo Missions, NASA put radars on the moon to monitor natural earthquakes and other seismic activities. Eventually, they found that the moon rings like a bell. It would vibrate for hours at a time. Scientists stated that the moon’s density is significantly lower than the Earth’s. But these conspiracists believe its because aliens are spying on us from a space ship that just happens to look like the moon.

Space: My first love

Space, this is the topic once again. Space, but the mediums of space and the fascination that we have so far come up to develop worlds and universes and such over dramatic Space Opera's (Yes, I'm looking at you Star Wars and Mass Effect) and how they impact our expectations on what to come in the near future. The influences and the people and companies that lead the forefront of pop culture hysteria over space and some of the unrealistic expectations that we have for it. Ranging from "cosmic titans" such as Mr. DeGrasse Tyson, and ole Musky (Elon Musk ;) ) and the "Logan Paul's" of the pop-space-culture and whether to tackle product, or substance.

My dad and I, at the sweet tender and impressionable age of ten, sat waiting and eager to rewind an old dusty copy of a little known series called "Cosmos". The credits and beginning theme of Cosmos began to roll and I was so enthralled by all the diagrams and local shots and each commentary to be made about space of which I already knew and some that I didn't and all of the jargon that came along with it. Mr. Carl Sagan, a man that I idol when it comes to space and physics, has shown me a great deal and have pushed my obsession with space even more through his myriad of facts and truths about the cosmos that I further wanted to explore. I sometimes wished that this kind of substance of space was encouraged more through my youth and not just with me. Don't get me wrong, I love having these expectations and possibilities that J.J. Abrams and other like minded Science Fiction juggernauts and video game moguls such as EA entertainment can produce for us as filler for the realities of humans going to Mars or traveling at light speed, it help opens ideas to new scientific discoveries like ole Musky shooting a car out to space that has already passed Mars. Fantasies can only push us so far and we have to remember as humans that we must focus on Earth and how to maintain life here before we can move on any further with other planets and other solar systems.

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The National Space Council is apparently not from a Science Fiction show

February 20^th Vice President Pence returned to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida. He took to the podium to head a meeting of the newly re-established National Space Council.  

Back in July, Vice President Pence visited the space center to speak to the employees about the on-going programs. He also toured facilities that hosts the programs.

During this visit, he toured Kennedy Space Center once more as well as the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. He also participated in the reception hosted by the Aerospace Industry.

The main focus for this meeting was for the Vice President to host the second meeting of National Space Council. This meeting was held in Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing facility. This meeting was to emphasize the importance of the United Station’s missions into space. The meeting went into detail about the United States being the worlds leader when it came down to space exploration. The theme of the meeting was titled, “Moon, Mars and the World Beyond: Winning the Next Frontier”. It included speakers that are leaders in commercial, civil and security sectors of space exploration.

The National Space Council’s role is to advise the President of the best strategies for the country’s space policies and to review the nations goals for space travel. The members include people in civil and military space programs.

President Trump has given the agency a budget $19.9 billion and has directed NASA to extend it exploration to the outer reaches of our solar system.

Pluto: Planet or Ice Rock?

What actually is Pluto?

Some say it's a planet, some say it's nothing.

NASA states that Pluto is a dwarf planet. It travels and orbits the sun just like other planets. But unlike the other planets, it is much smaller than the others. The planet is about half the size of the United States and smaller than the Earth's moon. The planet takes about 248 Earth years to go around the sun. A day on Pluto is six and a half days on Earth.

Pluto is in a part of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt. A region of the solar system that is outside the orbit of Neptune. It holds, what is to be believed comets, asteroids and other small objects and bodies that are mainly made of ice. Like Pluto.

NASA is constantly exploring the solar system and beyond because people love to learn new things. The agency couldn't get a picture using Hubble that wasn't blurry. So, they sent a a telescope the size of a small piano to take pictures of the dwarf planet. New Horizon's is its name. The telescope launched in January of 2006, and got to the planet in Summer 2015 and took some fantastic pictures.

From these pictures, NASA discovered that Pluto is more rock than ice! They also discovered that the moons of the planet spin faster than all other moons. The moon Hydra spins 90 times every time is orbits Pluto.

LIFTOFF!

One of the biggest news stories this week is Falcon Heavy. Launching from famous platform 39A, which launched the Apollo moon missions as well as the shuttle missions, Falcon Heavy went down in history as the most powerful rocket ever.

Kennedy Space Center was lined with traffic as eager Floridians got ready for the launch. Falcon Heavy lifted off on Tuesday February 6th almost perfectly. This rocket is the only rocket since the Saturn V (the one who sent humans to the moon) that could lift 140,000 pounds.

At 3:45 in the afternoon, after a few push backs, the rockets rumbled ready to lift off. The sound could be heard from miles and the shaking could be felt across the cape. The rocket launched, and with it was a Tesla Roadster that would eventually blare David Bowie's Space Oddity throughout the atmosphere.

Much like the space shuttle program, the Falcon Heavy rocket released the boosters from the sides and let them fall back into Earth's atmosphere. This left just the middle portion. After further ascending, the rocket released the bottom part of what was left of the middle section. This part was supposed to fall back down to Earth and land on a drone ship. Later, it was discovered that the center core did not land on the drone, and missed entirely.

Fun fact: the center core hit the water at 300 miles an hour

Anyway, other than the missed landing, the launch was a pretty big success. After the upper capsule separated from the center portion, the rest of the rocket carried the roadster and the dummy to a space trips around Earth's orbit and possibly to the asteroid belt. SpaceX has stated that the roadster could make it out there for awhile.

The Tesla has three cameras attached to it. We can ride around with it for a bit.

You can watch the launch here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbSwFU6tY1c

Once in a blue moon

January 31^st was a rare and beautiful night for most of the country. The night was titled by NASA as well as a majority of major media outlets as a “super blue blood moon”. Say that three times fast.

A super blue blood moon occurs when the moon is at a total lunar eclipse (which makes it blood orange), when it is at its perigee (which basically means it is huge), and when it is a second full moon in a calendar month. This is an incredibly rare occurrence. So rare, the last time it happened was in 1982 and won’t happen again until 2037.

So, lets break this down for less (lunar)tics.

We have a lunar eclipse. Which occurs when the moon (hence in the “lunar” in “lunar eclipse”) passes within the Earth’s shadow. In the beginning, the shadow the Earth is creating is making the moon appear darker. As the shadow starts to cover the moon more and more, this turns the moon into a dark orange red color. The closer you are to the northern tip of the moon, the more colored it looks.

The super moon happens when the moon is the closest distance to the Earth in its cycle. It’s 7% larger than in average.

Lastly, the blue moon. Ever heard the phrase, “once in a blue moon”? This actually comes from space! Essentially, it’s a second full moon in a month. Super rare.

Mushing all of these things together in a weird and crazy coincidence makes a super blue blood moon and one heck of an experience.  

This Day in Space History

January 28^th, 1986 the space shuttle Challenger exploded only 73 seconds after liftoff.

This was the shuttles 10^th anniversary. The explosion killed all seven members of the crew. Including Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the first ordinary American citizen up in space. She was a 37-year-old high school history teacher. McAuliffe earned her spot on board by winning a contest NASA started, called the NASA Teacher in Space Program. She underwent months of training for the mission.  

After a particularly cold January week that us Floridians are still not quite used to, NASA’s engineers postponed the Challengers 10^th flight for six days. After postponing it for almost a week, the shuttle was given the go ahead. Engineers at NASA warned that because of the unusually cold weather, certain parts of the shuttle might be damaged or not working up to their abilities. Specifically, the rubber o-rings that helped seal the joints of the rocket boosters, which could potentially fail at cold temperatures. These warnings were ignored. The Challengers lifted off, and the whole country was traumatized 73 seconds later as bits of the shuttles tumbled into the ocean.

President Ronald Regan put together a special team to figure out what happened with the shuttle. Members of this team included Neil Armstrong and Richard Feynman.

The space shuttle program came to a halt for two years after the Challenger exploded. NASA changed numerous features of their shuttles. The first launch after was Discovery.

Two years after the Challenger exploded, two pieces of the shuttle were found washed ashore on the Florida coast. 

Hubble and Webb: A Love Story

Star-crossed lovers is quite the understatement with this one.

28 years ago the Hubble Space Telescope began circling the Earth. Hubble launched from the space shuttle Discovery and since then as been gifting us with stunning, high resolution, never before seen images of the solar systems best objects. Not only has it given us pictures, but also discoveries like dark matter, Pluto, black holes and the fact that the universe is growing at an accelerating rate, instead of slowing down.

While Hubble has and always will be an amazing leap for science, the telescope won't last forever. So alas, NASA is planning its retirement party. 

Hubble isn't getting replaced, but merely upgraded. 

The differences between Hubble and Webb are pretty astronomical. Starting with size. Hubble is about the size of a tractor trailer, at about 43.5 feet long. Webb on the other hand is about the size of a tennis court, at about 69 feet long. 

Next is wavelength. It is an infrared observatory which will base its missions off of what Hubble discovered. Webb will have a longer wavelength coverage as well as heightened sensitivity. The point of this is to be able to look for the formation of the very first galaxies. Webb will also have the ability to look inside the dust clouds of stars being formed today! 

Lastly, orbit. One of the biggest worries NASA has for Webb is the fact that they can't fix it if something messes up. Webb will be orbiting 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Which is farther than any maned mission has ever been. As opposed to Hubble, which was so close to Earth's orbit is was launched via a space shuttle. Webb will be launched on a rocket. 

At the 1.5 km point where Webb will be orbiting, the solar shield will be able to block the light from Earth, the Sun and the Moon. Webb has to keep that infrared telescope as cool as possible. Basically, Webb will stay in the same fixed spot. A more detailed explanation of the sun shield from NASA's best web scientists can be found here, https://jwst.nasa.gov/sunshield.html. 

Webb will be launching Spring of 2019! 

But, if you're too excited (like me) NASA has a live web cam feed for those who need some serious space.

https://jwst.nasa.gov/webcam.html

The biggest part of Webb's mission is getting there. This is a video of how it will get 1.5 km from Earth! 

Privacy Policy

This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their 'Personally Identifiable Information' (PII) is being used online. PII, as described in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.

What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our blog, website or app?

When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your IP or other details to help you with your experience.

When do we collect information?

We collect information from you when you or enter information on our site.

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How do we use your information?

We may use the information we collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:

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How do we protect your information?

Our website is scanned on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible.

We use regular Malware Scanning.

Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. In addition, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.

We implement a variety of security measures when a user enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of your personal information.

All transactions are processed through a gateway provider and are not stored or processed on our servers.

Do we use 'cookies'?

We do not use cookies for tracking purposes

You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser settings. Since browser is a little different, look at your browser's Help Menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.

If you turn cookies off, Some of the features that make your site experience more efficient may not function properly.that make your site experience more efficient and may not function properly.

Third-party disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your Personally Identifiable Information.

Third-party links

We do not include or offer third-party products or services on our website.

Google

Google's advertising requirements can be summed up by Google's Advertising Principles. They are put in place to provide a positive experience for users. https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/1316548?hl=en

We use Google AdSense Advertising on our website.

Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on our site. Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to our users based on previous visits to our site and other sites on the Internet. Users may opt-out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google Ad and Content Network privacy policy.

We have implemented the following:

      • Remarketing with Google AdSense

We, along with third-party vendors such as Google use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookies) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) or other third-party identifiers together to compile data regarding user interactions with ad impressions and other ad service functions as they relate to our website.

Opting out:
Users can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Settings page. Alternatively, you can opt out by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative Opt Out page or by using the Google Analytics Opt Out Browser add on.

California Online Privacy Protection Act

CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law's reach stretches well beyond California to require any person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting Personally Identifiable Information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals or companies with whom it is being shared. - See more at: http://consumercal.org/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa/#sthash.0FdRbT51.dpuf

According to CalOPPA, we agree to the following:

Users can visit our site anonymously.

Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our home page or as a minimum, on the first significant page after entering our website.

Our Privacy Policy link includes the word 'Privacy' and can easily be found on the page specified above.

You will be notified of any Privacy Policy changes:

      • On our Privacy Policy Page

Can change your personal information:

      • By emailing us

How does our site handle Do Not Track signals?

We honor Do Not Track signals and Do Not Track, plant cookies, or use advertising when a Do Not Track (DNT) browser mechanism is in place.

Does our site allow third-party behavioral tracking?

It's also important to note that we do not allow third-party behavioral tracking

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)

When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 years old, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, United States' consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children's privacy and safety online.

We do not specifically market to children under the age of 13 years old.

Do we let third-parties, including ad networks or plug-ins collect PII from children under 13?

Fair Information Practices

The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.

In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:

We will notify you via email

      • Within 1 business day

We also agree to the Individual Redress Principle which requires that individuals have the right to legally pursue enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or government agencies to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.

CAN SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.

We collect your email address in order to:

To be in accordance with CANSPAM, we agree to the following:

If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you can email us at

and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.

Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us using the information below.

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Last Edited on 2018-03-04